Eighteenth-Century Society and Culture

1. Eighteenth-Century Society and Culture The West CHAPTER 17

2. The Aristocracy • Included titled noblemen, who had great wealth and power, as well as lesser gentry • Formed a cohesive social group, with similar economic and political interests • Most aristocrats’ income came from land ownership • Wealth increased during eighteenth century, often via agrarian entrepreneurship

3. The Political Power of the Aristocracy • Pursued strategies to increase or preserve their power and influence • Exercised legislative power in England and in much of central and eastern Europe • Under absolute monarchs, the aristocracy controlled the institutions of royal government • Possessed judicial authority across Europe, locally and nationally

4. The Cultural World of the Aristocracy • Lifestyle emphasized learning, refinement and cultural appreciation • Evolution of “polite society” - possession of manners and social graces • Patronage of music, literature and visual arts • Development of neoclassical architecture and classical music

5. Encounters with Rural Peasantry • Transformations in the economic and physical relationships between peasants and their landlords • Deteriorating financial conditions of peasantry led to legal challenges to seigniorial system • Increasing crimes against property of aristocratic landlords

6. The Social Position of the Bourgeoisie • Social and economic distinctions between wealthiest bourgeoisie and the gentry began to fade • Emergence of a new, distinct social and cultural identity among the middle and lower ranks of the bourgeoisie • Evolution of the “public sphere”

7. The Bourgeois Critique of Aristocracy • Contrasted aristocratic luxury and idleness with bourgeois thrift and work ethic • Considered aristocrats to be sexually promiscuous and immoral • Contrasted the decadent internationalism of aristocratic culture with the wholesome patriotism of the bourgeois • Foundation of demands for meritocracy and the expansion of political rights

8. The Enlightenment • Defining intellectual and cultural movement of the eighteenth century • Evolved from seventeenth century skepticism and scientific method • Emergence of a cosmopolitan and international Republic of Letters • Constituted an approach to obtaining knowledge, rather than to a defined set of beliefs

9. Themes of Enlightenment Thought • Elevation of reason above all other philosophical methods, including religion • Development of religious tolerance and criticism of superstition • Belief in the continuing improvement of human civilization • Pursuit of social justice

10. Enlightenment Political Thought • Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1785) - promoted the separation of powers • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1284) - promoted popular sovereignty, but not democracy • Thomas Paine (1737-1809) - asserted the existence of inalienable human rights and promoted republicanism

11. Gender, Sexuality and the Enlightenment • Emergence of the theory of separate male and female spheres - the ideology of female domesticity • After 1790, certain writers began to promote the idea of gender equality • Opposed religious restraints upon sexuality as arbitrary and contrary to nature

12. The Spread of Enlightened Ideas • Increased literacy and expansion of printing • Development of public libraries, museums, book clubs, and scientific and literary societies • Emergence of salons, and coffee-house culture • Spread of freemasonry • Enlightened ideas spread among the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie

13. The Limits of the Enlightenment • Religious and spiritual literature continued to flourish • Emergence of sensationalist, popular press • Further widening of the cultural gap between social élites and the lower classes • Persistence of popular blood sports and superstitions, in the face of enlightened criticism

14. Enlightened Absolutism • Several monarchs, particularly in central and eastern Europe, used their absolute power to implement Enlightenment reforms • Introduction of religious tolerance • Abolition of judicial torture and capital punishment • Establishment of compulsory education • Elimination of serfdom

15. The Enlightenment and Revolution • Fostered parliamentary reforms and expansion of the voting franchise in Britain • Contributed a critical spirit and political inspiration to the French Revolution • Applied by advocates of colonial independence in the Americas • Fostered a critique of European imperialism and colonialism

16. Enlightenment and Western Identity • A uniquely Western phenomenon • Foundation of “Western values” - individual liberty, civil rights, toleration and rational decision making • Enlightened ideas have never been fully accepted within western society • Promoted a clear sense of western European identity, with respect to the rest of the world

17. Change and Continuity in the Eighteenth Century • Façade of social and political stability • Growth of a distinct bourgeois political, social and cultural identity • Increasing resistance to aristocratic privileges among bourgeoisie and lower classes • Intellectual challenge of the Enlightenment to both monarchy and aristocracy